Sunday 22nd May 2022

Mr. Chan was stuck in Hatton trying to get a bus to Maskeliya, as he had a private class of 6 estate workers from 10:30 - 12:30. Fortunately, I had the keys to the school, so I went into school and took the session for him. Only 4 out of the 6 turned up, but I really enjoyed a 2-hour teaching session with them, with 1 hour on building a team, and 1 hour on the qualities of a leader and how to develop them.

On the way out of school, I heard some whimpering and found 3 adorable puppies wandering around, with no sign of a mother. You see stray dogs all the time here, but I have never seen puppies like this, as I guess their mothers usually keep them somewhere safe. I quickly got the best photographs of them that I could, acutely aware that a very protective mother might be lurking somewhere very nearby!

Mr. Umarahan (Uma) had invited me to come to his home for lunch, and he appeared to take me into Maskeliya to show me where he lived. We got a tuk-tuk into the centre of town, as I didn't want to arrive at his house empty-handed, and after I made a couple of purchases, we made the short walk from the town centre to the Maskeliya Estate, where he lives in a line house that he has lived in all his life.

There is quite an extended family living in that house, including Uma and his wife, Venuka, with their 18-month-old daughter Hathviya, and another baby on the way, plus Uma's parents and one of his younger brothers (who wasn't there today). I was given such a warm welcome by Uma's family, and it was great getting to know Uma, as he wasn't someone I got to know very well when I was here in 2019.









Comments

  1. CharlesMay 22, 2022 at 11:31 PM

    It is interesting that dogs - even if they are strays - feature so prominently in the way of life you describe. I trust there is enough in the way of scraps and leftovers for the strays to survive on in these difficult times?

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